Container



March 19, I968 YUKIO KUSUNOKI 3,373,920

CONTAINER Filed Feb. 8, 1966 4 sheets sheet 1 INVENTOR YUKIO KUSUNOKI BY awk/m0 f w Jazz/um Q ZM ATTORNEYS March 19, 1968 YUKIO KUSUNOKI CONTAINER Filed Feb. 8, 1 966 INVENT OR YUKIO KUSUNOKI fizz/11% 4- KM ATTORNEYS March 19, 1968 YUKIO KUSUNOKI CONTAINER 4 Sheets-Shet 5 Filed Feb. 8, 1966 INVENT OR YUKIO KUSUNOKI ATTORNEYS eff/u h wmdmqpzw March 19, 1968 YUKIO KUSUNOKI 3,373,920

CONTAINER Filed Feb. 8, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENT OR YUKIO KUSUNOKI Jam/@ 12 Wm Jam 4414,40

ATTORNEYS United States I tet 3,373,920 CONTAINER Yukio Kusunoki, 19 Kakano-cho, Toyama-shi, Japan Filed Feb. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 536,169 Claims priority, application Japan, May 6, 1965,

40/35,521 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-23) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container having generally rectangular lid and main body members folded from paperboard blanks and the like, characterized in that the body member has an open top and that the lid member is open at each end and includes a bottom wall contained between parallel lateral walls of the main body member, a pair of side walls each including at one vertical edge an intermediate portion carrying an arcuate guide surface, and a top wall. The aforementioned intermediate portions of the side walls of the lid member extend through corresponding angular-1y arranged linear slits contained within the lateral walls of the main body member, the length of the slits being equal to the radius of curvature of the arcuate guide surfaces.

This invention relates to a container made of paper, plastics, or the like. The container of this invention has a lid means whose guide portion is inserted through the slit of the main body, thus rendering the lid means movable, which opens and closes the upper side of the main body in accordance with the movement while pushing the bottom up and down obliquely.

This invention provides a container which makes it possible to take out the contained objects with ease merely by pivoting the lid means relative to the main body. The characteristics and advantages of this invention will be made clear by the following detailed description with reference to attached drawings.

FIGURE 1 presents a perspective view of the container of this invention.

FIGURE 2 presents a side elevation view of the container with its top end open.

FIGURE 3 presents a cross section view in the direction of A-A of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 presents a top plan view in the direction of B-B of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 presents a cross section view in the direction of CC of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 presents the lid means in its unfolded condition.

FIGURE 7 presents the main body in its unfolded condition.

Referring now to the drawing, the container includes main body and lid components each of which is folded from a blank of cardboard, paperboard, synthetic plastic material, or the like. As shown in FIG. 6, the lid blank includes in succession, a first top wall 2, a first side Wall 3, a bottom wall 4, a second side wall 3, and a second top wall 5, said walls being divided by fold lines 17, 18, 19 and 20, respectively. The lid blank is folded to define an open-ended rectangular configuration in which the first and second top walls 2 and 5 are contiguous and horizontal, and also are parallel with and spaced from the bottom wall 4. The vertical side walls 3, 3' have at corresponding vertical edges intermediate portions having identical arcuate guide surfaces 6, 6', respectively, the radius of curvature r of which is generated from the remote extremity of the bottom wall fold lines 18, 19, respectively, as shown in FIG. 6. Since the length c of the bottom wall 4 is greater than the radius of curvature r, stop projections 31, 31 are formed at the lower extremities of the curved surfaces 6, 6', respectively. Flaps 7 and 8 are defined in bottom wall 4 and are foldable downwardly about transverse fold lines 21, 22, respectively, as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the main body blank includes, in succession, a first end wall 9, a first lateral wall 10, a second end wall 9, a second lateral wall 10', and a third end wall 11, the height a of these walls being substantially equal to that of the first and second side walls 3, 3' of the lid. These walls are foldable about vertical fold lines 23, 24, 25 and 26, respectively, to define an opentopped rectangular configuration in which the first and third vertical end walls 9 and 11 are contiguous, vertical and parallel with and spaced from the second end wall 9'. First, second and third bottom flaps 12, 14 and 14' are connected with the lower edges of walls 9, 10 and 10', respectively, said bottom flaps being foldable upwardly to horizontal superimposed portions as shown in FIG. 5, the free flap 13 at the end of first bottom flap 12 being folded upwardly for sealed engagement with the innersurface of the second end wall 9, whereby a closed bottom is formed for the main body component.

In accordance with the present invention, the first and second lateral walls 10, 10' contain linear slits 15, 15' that extend angularly (at an angle of about 45) a distance r from the junctions between the lower edges of the walls and the vertical fold lines 23 and 26, respectively. The length r of each slit 15, 15 equals the radius of curvature r of the arcuate guide surfaces 6, 6' of the lid.

As shown in FIGS. l-5, when in the assembled condition, the horizontal bottom wall 4 and the lower portions of the side walls 3, 3 of the lid are contained between the lateral walls 10, 10 of the main body. The intermediate portions of the lid side walls carrying the arcuate guide surfaces 6, 6' extend through the slits 15, 15 in the main body lateral walls, whereby the upper portions of the lid side walls 3, 3 are external of the main body lateral walls.

In operation, as the lid is pivoted about the lower edges of first end wall 9 from the closed (FIGS. 1 and 3) position to the open position (FIGS. 2, 4 and 5), the upper or top portion of the lid is displaced from above the main body member, so that access to the main body chamber is provided. During this pivotal movement of the lid, the bottom wall 4 moves upwardly from a horizontal position to an inclined position as shown in FIG. 5. Consequently, in the event that the container should be provided with cigarettes or the like contents, the articles are elevated to an accessible dispensing position by the opening movement of the lid. As shown in FIG. 5, the stops 31 engage the extremities'of the slits to limit the pivotal movement of the lid member in the open direction.

If the main body 16 of this container is held and the lid means 1 is turned, the guide surfaces 6 and 6' of the lid means 1 turn round while rubbing one end d of the slits 15 and 15'. And simultaneously with the opening of the upper portion of the main body 16, the tongue-like fiaps 7 and 8 of the lid means 1 rise keping their horizontal positions at different levels respectively. Objects are put in from the upper portion of the main body 16, and the lid means 1 is brought back to the original position to seal the contained objects.

In taking out the contained objects, the lid means 1 is rotated as mentioned above and concurrently the contained objects rise supported by the tongue-like flaps 7 and 8 which are attached at the bottom of the lid means 1. Thus the contained objects supported by the tonguelike flap 7 stick out above the main body 16, as well as the contained objects supported by the tongue-like flap 8. In this way, one can take out the contained objects with case without putting his hand into the main body. Even in case the contained objects are short, one can easily take them out by removing them to the side of the tongue-like flap 7 and rotating the lid means '1. When the container of this invention is not in use, it can easily be kept in the folded condition by pressing the bottom portion 12 and the sleeve flaps 14 an 14 after lifting the lid means 1 and letting loose the sleeve flap 13 of the main body 16. Therefore this container does not require large space for keeping, and it can be carried easily.

In case we want to put this container into use from the folded position, we have only to apply force from the opposite direction to its original position and to insert the sleeve fiap 13 while folding the sleeve flaps 14- and 14 of the main body 16. The reconstruction into the usable position is so easy, without involving any complicated handling.

In this way, the device of this invention is so constructed that the contained objects may be pushed up by the bottom of the lid means from within the main body when the lid means is lifted.

Here are some of the advantages of this device. Contained objects in the main body, for instance, cigarettes or chocolate bars, automatically rise and ones fingers need not reach out to the bottom to take them out. Hygienic purposes can be attained also, because this mechanism precludes a chance that ones fingers might taint the remnants by touching them. It also provides fun through the upward projection of the contained objects simultaneous with the opening of the lid means. This device, when not in use, can be folded up to be made smaller in measurement. So it needs little space for storing and can be carried with ease.

What I claim is:

1. Container means comprising a main body blank including, in successive panels joined by vertical fold lines, a first end wall, a first lateral wall, a second lateral wall, and a third end wall, said blank being folded to define a generally rectangular open-topped configuration in which said first and third end Walls are contiguous and parallel and spaced from said second end wall, said first and second lateral walls being spaced and parallel, said main body blank including also a plurality of bottom flap means connected with the bottom edges of at least some of said end and lateral walls, respectively, for closing the bottom of said main body, said first and second lateral walls containing identical linear slits of a given length r extending angularly from the lower extremities of the fold lines adjacent said first and third end walls, respectively; and

a lid blank including, in successive panels joined by horizontal fold lines, a first top wall, a first side wall, a bottom wall, a second side wall, and a second top wall, said lid blank being folded to an open-ended configuration in which said first and second top walls are contiguous and parallel and spaced from said bottom wall, said first and second side walls being parallel and spaced, each of said first and second side walls having at one vertical edge intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof an arcuate guide portion the radius of curvature of which is equal to said given length r and which originates at the junction of the other vertical edge of said side wall with the fold line thereof with said bottom wall, the height a of the first and second side walls of said lid blank being substantially equal to the height of the end and lateral walls of the main body blank, the width of the top walls of said lid blank being slightly greater than the width of the end walls of said main body blank, and the length c of the bottom wall of the lid blank being substantially equal to the width of the lateral walls of said main body blank;

said lid blank being connected for pivotal movement relative to said main body blank, the bottom wall and the lowermost portions of the side walls of said lid blank being contained between the lateral walls of said main body blank, the intermediate portions of the side walls of the lid blank extending through the slits in the lateral walls of the main body blank, and the uppermost portions of the side walls of the lid blank being external of the lateral walls of the main body blank, whereby upon pivotal movement of the lid blank about the lower edge of the first end wall of the main body blank, the arcuate guide edge portions of the lid side walls are guided within the slits, respectively.

2. A container as defined in claim 1, wherein the bottom wall of said lid means contains intermediate its ends slit means defining at least one tongue flap portion.

3. A container as defined in claim '1, wherein said radius of curvature r is less than the length of the bottom wall of said lid means, whereby stop projections are defined at the lower extremities of said arcuate guide surfaces for limiting pivotal movement of the lid blank in the open direction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1922 Butler 2064l.1 3/1941 Blinstrub 229-20 

